I was just watching TSN's little video on this whole thing and the preds GM basically said Ryan Suter did the same thing. All year they said things would work out and the whole time they were planning this bullsh!t.

That's my thoughts exactly of how it went down. I just listened to an interview with the Wild's assistant GM, and it really didn't seem like much was happening until yesterday when perhaps Parise and Suter talked it out a lot. Once Parise had Suter feeling good about Minny, it was easier to go the Wild. Their assistant GM said a few teams were talking seriously about bringing both in together (certainly Detroit and Pitt, maybe Nashville), and they were both offered a lot more money by many teams if they wanted to sign alone.

So in the end, Zach took less money and wanted to go home, but play on a team that was competitive enough. I think he kept with his priorities in the end.

Let's be realistic, he got near max for the first two years of his deal and $94M over 10 years. How much extra money could he possibly have gotten? He only gets $4M less than Crosby over the first 10 years of HIS new contract. This is the stuff where he can dig himself a big hole because it's just total bullsh!t.

Well for maybe a little bit of comic relief go check out the fake Twitter insiders, incarceratedbob and hockeyyinsiderr who both swore to have sources saying Zach was going to sign with the Penguins. Both claiming their "sources" are saying that Crosby is livid at Zach for breaking his word.

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I collect spores, molds and fungus.Hello fellow American. This you should vote me. I leave power. Good. Thank you, thank you. If you vote me, I'm hot. What? Taxes, they'll be lower... son. The Democratic vote is the right thing to do Philadelphia, so do.How do you spot risk? How do you avoid risk? And what makes it so risky?

Well for maybe a little bit of comic relief go check out the fake Twitter insiders, incarceratedbob and hockeyyinsiderr who both swore to have sources saying Zach was going to sign with the Penguins. Both claiming their "sources" are saying that Crosby is livid at Zach for breaking his word.

Yea I noticed this too. I actually hope they're dead on about this. The thought of Sid breaking things and being SO MAD is pretty great.

I read a post on HF that pretty much sums up how I feel about this. Im not angry, but it definitely feels awful. This is the post that I think sums it up perfectly for me:

guitarguyvic He opted to take a one year contract last year. He admits to being in contact with his girlfrien Ryan Suter throughout the season about playing on the same team. He opts to hit free agency and then leaves the team just weeks after leading them to the Cup Final while every other FA teammate (with the exception of our least productive forward) re-signs. He had the opportunity to repay the organization that traded up to draft him; the organization that made him the Captain; the organization that hired a coach and system tailored to his playing style; the prganization that has missed the playoffs just three times in 20 years and has 3 Cups and 5 Finals appearances during that time; the organization that he has spent the last 9 years with in a place that he has called home during that entire time.

I appreciate what he brought to the team during his time here; but I don't owe him any more thanks than he has shown to us during this process.

His comments have really rubbed me the wrong way. He made it sound like he and Suter planned this for a while. Did they? Who really knows. But it sure seems like it. If you never planned on staying, just do what most guys do when asked about the situation- speak in generalities and be vague. Zach didn't do that. Everything was "we" and "us" and the infamous "don't worry". Talk about a high-falutin' huckster and hustler.

I mentioned the "we," "us," and "don't worry" comments as having had given Devils fans hope and I've been getting bashed like a motherfvcker.

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"The Devils always find a way to win, ... That will continue." -Scott Stevens"I wouldn't think so. Nothing is broken. It's just a bruise." -Lou Lamoriello

Yea I noticed this too. I actually hope they're dead on about this. The thought of Sid breaking things and being SO MAD is pretty great.

I read a post on HF that pretty much sums up how I feel about this. Im not angry, but it definitely feels awful. This is the post that I think sums it up perfectly for me:

BTW the venom on HF is 10x what Ive read on here.

Fvck Cindy. I could honestly not give a sh!t less if he is mad. Fvck the entire Pittsburgh organization. I'm just glad Zach didn't go there or to the Flyers. I'm glad he's in the West where we rarely see him.

Now, that being said, who do we sign in his place? Anyone good out of the rest of the free agents?

Last 12 months? I bet they were talking about it during Draft Day, 2003. 'Hey, when we become NHL stars, let's play on the same team, okay?'.

I bet Zidlicky was talking about coming to New Jersey with Elias, Zubrus, and Sykora when he went on vacation with them as a member of the Wild. Guess Zidlicky was probably having wild group sex with them, also. What a snake in the grass.

Other than suggest sticking to the sabremetrics, I really don't know what to say about this post.

The problem i have in this whole thing, after mulling it over for the better part of 8 hours is the way that Lou handles his free agents generally. Over the course of the last 10 years or so, I think the Devils more than any other team have had more high level free agents go to July 1. Lou plays with fire. Sometimes we get the guy, sometimes we lose the guy. In this case we lost. How many teams let there top players go to July 1? Name the last top Ranger to hit July 1, and if there is 1, there may not be more than 1. I just don't feel like the way we do business is generally the right way. We don't have the glam and glitz of some NHL cities, but we have a winning tradition which is tough to come by and a great selling point. I am just soured by the whole thing and i think this happens to the devils more often then any other team.

And yet we continue to have a successful team.... doesn't mean it feels good to constantly lose top flight players to free agency.

On a seperate note - who else finds it laughable that the Devils want STH money in April, yet they can't lock down the captain of the team and top player in the prime of his career... but you are supposed to give them their money 6 months in advance to guarentee your seats for a product they dont intend to take care of until June/July.

The problem i have in this whole thing, after mulling it over for the better part of 8 hours is the way that Lou handles his free agents generally. Over the course of the last 10 years or so, I think the Devils more than any other team have had more high level free agents go to July 1. Lou plays with fire. Sometimes we get the guy, sometimes we lose the guy. In this case we lost. How many teams let there top players go to July 1? Name the last top Ranger to hit July 1, and if there is 1, there may not be more than 1. I just don't feel like the way we do business is generally the right way. We don't have the glam and glitz of some NHL cities, but we have a winning tradition which is tough to come by and a great selling point. I am just soured by the whole thing and i think this happens to the devils more often then any other team.

And yet we continue to have a successful team.... doesn't mean it feels good to constantly lose top flight players to free agency.

It's interesting and not something that has been discussed much today. If Lou offered Zach the same contract he did on July 1st, say in February, Zach Parise is probably a New Jersey Devil.

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"The Stanley Cup has fallen from the Stars. The new millennium has its first Stanley Cup Champion, and it's the New Jersey Devils." Mike Miller calling the Devils winning the Stanley Cup.

"It goes to the captain and then there are handoffs during a skate around the ice" Mike Emrick as Scott Stevens is being presented the Stanley Cup.

On a seperate note - who else finds it laughable that the Devils want STH money in April, yet they can't lock down the captain of the team and top player in the prime of his career... but you are supposed to give them their money 6 months in advance to guarentee your seats for a product they dont intend to take care of until June/July.

Horsesh!t

There's 1 Ranger left from the 05/06 team. They had to go somewhere. Don't worry, they will lose guys out of this current crop because there will be too many of them. Hell that's part of the reason they don't lose guys, they don't produce any for awhile and whatever they produced got traded for older guys who then washed out while Rangers, just riding off into the sunset.

There's 1 Ranger left from the 05/06 team. They had to go somewhere. Don't worry, they will lose guys out of this current crop because there will be too many of them. Hell that's part of the reason they don't lose guys, they don't produce any for awhile and whatever they produced got traded for older guys who then washed out while Rangers, just riding off into the sunset.

The problem i have in this whole thing, after mulling it over for the better part of 8 hours is the way that Lou handles his free agents generally. Over the course of the last 10 years or so, I think the Devils more than any other team have had more high level free agents go to July 1. Lou plays with fire. Sometimes we get the guy, sometimes we lose the guy. In this case we lost. How many teams let there top players go to July 1? Name the last top Ranger to hit July 1, and if there is 1, there may not be more than 1. I just don't feel like the way we do business is generally the right way. We don't have the glam and glitz of some NHL cities, but we have a winning tradition which is tough to come by and a great selling point. I am just soured by the whole thing and i think this happens to the devils more often then any other team.

And yet we continue to have a successful team.... doesn't mean it feels good to constantly lose top flight players to free agency.

yeah well i got sh!t on for saying this... thats all because of Lou's way of doing things. glad i got people on my side about that one

The problem i have in this whole thing, after mulling it over for the better part of 8 hours is the way that Lou handles his free agents generally. Over the course of the last 10 years or so, I think the Devils more than any other team have had more high level free agents go to July 1. Lou plays with fire. Sometimes we get the guy, sometimes we lose the guy. In this case we lost. How many teams let there top players go to July 1? Name the last top Ranger to hit July 1, and if there is 1, there may not be more than 1. I just don't feel like the way we do business is generally the right way. We don't have the glam and glitz of some NHL cities, but we have a winning tradition which is tough to come by and a great selling point. I am just soured by the whole thing and i think this happens to the devils more often then any other team.And yet we continue to have a successful team.... doesn't mean it feels good to constantly lose top flight players to free agency.

I understand your overall point but the Rangers aren't a good comparison. They are finally getting good home grown talent that they hadn't even had for years.

On a seperate note - who else finds it laughable that the Devils want STH money in April, yet they can't lock down the captain of the team and top player in the prime of his career... but you are supposed to give them their money 6 months in advance to guarentee your seats for a product they dont intend to take care of until June/July.Horsesh!t

Well for maybe a little bit of comic relief go check out the fake Twitter insiders, incarceratedbob and hockeyyinsiderr who both swore to have sources saying Zach was going to sign with the Penguins. Both claiming their "sources" are saying that Crosby is livid at Zach for breaking his word.

Those "insiders" are terrible. They throw out vague guesses and then lie about sources. Watching them try to lie their way out when they are dead wrong is hilarious... And painful haha

yeah well i got sh!t on for saying this... thats all because of Lou's way of doing things. glad i got people on my side about that one

HE OFFERED ZACH A CONTRACT. ZACHS AGENTS TOLD HIM TO WAIT FOR FREE AGENCY.

Why can't you get that?!?

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